Lexington City Council approves use of food trucks

The Lexington City Council unanimously voted to adopt an amendment to the city's land use ordinance to permit and regulate food trucks within the city limits during its regular meeting on Monday.

BY SHARON MYERSThe Dispatch

The Lexington City Council unanimously voted to adopt an amendment to the city's land use ordinance to permit and regulate food trucks within the city limits during its regular meeting on Monday.Josh Monk, a city planner for the Lexington Office of Business and Community Development, gave a presentation on the amendment to the city ordinance prior to the mandatory public hearing. He said a food truck is a vehicle that is regulated through the county health department where food is cooked and prepared on site and that food trucks would fill in the gaps when established restaurants have already closed."There is a large night crowd (uptown) on the weekends, especially during the summer, that stay out late," Monk said. "After these events they are looking for somewhere to eat and a food truck would fill that need."As part of the ordinance, food trucks would have to be regulated through the county health department, they would not be allowed within 100 feet of an established restaurant, they would not be able to operate in a residential area past 10 p.m. and they would be responsible for disposing of their own trash. Any disposal of gray water or cooking grease would be subjected to existing laws pertaining to dumping of restricted materials.Trailers or trucks selling prepared foods, such as cotton candy, candy apples or funnel cakes, will not be included in the definition of a food truck. They require a special use permit for one-time celebrations such as a customer appreciation day. Push carts, including hot dog vendors, are already permitted through the city and would not be effected by the amendment to the ordinance.Also according to the ordinance, the only time food trucks would not be permitted as normal is during the Barbecue Festival and the BBQ Capital Cook Off. They would not be allowed within 1/4 mile of the event area during that time.The City of Lexington Planning Board unanimously voted during its meeting on Dec. 16 to recommend the ordinance establishing a food truck as part of the city's zoning ordinance. The new ordinance is considered to be an alignment with city council's goal to continue a new economic direction for the city. The Lexington Strategic Planning Committee recommended the city diversify retail and restaurant choices, and the use of food trucks is a way to provide such variety in a relatively short period of time.During the public hearing, Lexington resident Kassaundra Lockhart spoke in favor of the amendment to allow food trucks."Having recently lived in Raleigh, I can tell you what an industry like food trucks can do for a city," Lockhart said. "There are many late nights when I am hungry and there are not a lot of food options available. It's nothing for me to drive to Winston Salem or Salisbury looking for something new. It would be nice to have those options here. I think its a great idea and not one you see very often in smaller towns."Also during their meeting, members of the Lexington City Council continued some unfinished business by appointing Jane Whitehurst to the historic preservation commission. The remaining appointments to various city council boards and commissions were deferred to another date.During regular business, the council adopted the annual budget schedule for the fiscal year 2014-2015. City of Lexington Finance Director John Overton reported the city council will review the budget on April 30 and May 1 and the public hearing and final adoption of the 2014-15 city budget will be held on June 9.Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.